Journal of the Mathematics Council of the Alberta Teachers’ Association
Volume 38 Issue 2, May 2001
16 – 21
Making Connections: A Thematic Mathematics Project for Grade 7
David B. Smith
Here is the teacher’s dilemma: students are motivated by new experiences in mathematics, but many lack the basic skills and understanding of concepts that they need to be successful when the pace of instruction quickens. For example, when introducing the multiplication property of equality to solve ax = b, I find that many Grade 7 students have forgotten how to multiply fractions and decimals. They are interested in the prospect of learning something new, but their enthusiasm is dampened because they cannot perform simple computations. Even after years of drill and practice, familiar algorithms have not reached long-term memory.
